20:30:40 (2004)

The latest film from actress/director Sylvia Chang is probably about as "chick-flick" as you can get - quite simply it's a tale of 3 women in Tai Pei, one in her 20's (Angelica Lee), one in her 30's (Rene Liu) and one in her 40's (Sylvia Chang) and their lives and love lives. The three stories only intersect tangentially, but are woven together skillfully into a very enjoyable film that ought to appeal to at least some of the guys as well as the girls.

Angelica Lee arrives in Tai Pei from her rural backwater with dreams of pop stardom under producer Anthony Wong, who has a plan "hmm.... absolutely no resemblance, but let's market them as twins anyway". Rene Liu is an air hostess with several lovers but no real love, and Sylvia Chang is a florist who finds herself "on the market" again, and that she's past the age where dating and casual flings come easily.

All 3 main characters and their stories are well developed, realistic and compelling to watch. The film has a good mix of comedy, drama and sadness mixed together in a loose-fitting structure that's not in any hurry to get anywhere or to force any point or message home. It's a skillful and subtle movie that should appeal to audiences of all types - expect to see it get some festival/art-house play in the west, with any luck.